Person-On-Person Crime Has Olympia Police Concerned After 1st Quarter Data Shows Increase

Posted

First-quarter crime numbers released by the Olympia Police Department showed increases in person-on-person crime, mixed results on property crime and it’s still too early to tell what effect the COVID-19 pandemic has had on crime in the city, according to the data.

The first quarter of the year ends March 31, which fell about two weeks after Gov. Jay Inslee took steps to close schools and businesses because of the respiratory illness.

As for the person-on-person crime, the data showed the following:

— Misdemeanor simple assault: Rose 7.1 percent to 106 incidents from the same period a year ago.

— Felony aggravated assault: Rose 14 percent to 33 incidents.

— Harassment: Rose 67 percent to 25 incidents.

— Robbery: Rose 10 percent to 22 incidents.

— Rape/other sexual offenses: Rose 43 percent to 20 incidents.

Olympia police Lt. Paul Lower cautioned that small numbers can make percentage increases seem more dramatic. However, police are concerned about the rise in person-on-person crimes and will be taking a closer look at the data. As for the rise in sexual offenses, he said that is partly the result of working more closely with a group called the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and an increase in referrals from them.

What about domestic violence? Those numbers are included in the simple/aggravated assault data. Anecdotally, there have been reports of an increase in domestic violence due to people being cooped up during the pandemic, but Lower said they will have to break down that data a little further to get specific results about domestic violence.

Although the person-on-person crime numbers rose in the first quarter, Lower believes the Olympia data remains low when compared to a city of similar size, such as Puyallup, he said.

Property crime showed the following:



— Theft: Fell 6 percent to 146 incidents from the same period a year ago.

— Vehicle prowls: Fell 1 percent to 123 incidents.

— Auto theft: Rose 17.5 percent to 67 incidents.

— Fraud: Rose 13 percent to 51 incidents.

— Residential burglaries: Fell 8.6 percent to 32 incidents.

— Commercial burglaries: Fell 15.2 percent to 28 incidents.

Once the second quarter data is released — the second quarter ends June 30 — Lower expects it to show another drop in residential burglaries, given the number of people in the area working from home. As for commercial burglaries, he said police have been focused on protecting businesses that have had to close during the pandemic.

“We’re trying our best to keep an eye on things for them,” he said.

Olympia police recently arrested a man accused of a string of commercial burglaries.

As for fraud, those numbers also could increase because of scammers trying to take advantage of COVID-19.

The first-quarter data also showed that DUI arrests rose to 45 from 28 a year ago. The rise in arrests is the result of increasing patrols downtown after bars close, Lower said.